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A Home with Good Bones: An Interview with Jes Negrón, Retcon Games

Good Bones is the first title from RETCON Games, a one-person game studio founded by Jes Negrón in 2019. The point-and-click adventure game looks to be a cozy horror tale that delves into serious subjects, such as grief, abuse, and revenge. Negrón has been in the media development game for a long time, with almost two decades of experience as a writer, editor, producer, and designer of various media, including books and games. She has weathered the storms of these industries, particularly following her departure from Riot Games. Negrón and Melanie McCracken jointly filed a gender-based discrimination class-action lawsuit against Riot in November 2018. However, the resulting funds from that suit combined with Negrón’s passion for telling her own stories provided her with the foundation to start up RETCON Games and complete the development of her first solo title. I had the opportunity to speak with Negrón about her recently launched game, Good Bones, and how she approached the development process. Continue reading on SUPERJUMP…
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Let’s Share a Meal: The Importance Food in Storytelling

Food is a crucial part of daily life for every person — and it’s a vital part of our cultural experience. What kinds of food we consume, how we consume them, and with whom says a lot about us as people and the community in which we live.

In storytelling, food can play an equally important role, revealing information about the characters and their world. Does the character return alone home to an empty fridge and toss cup of noodles in the microwave? Or do they sit down to a large meal with their family every evening? The types of food and how the characters interact with each other — isolated or austere and conversationally cold or warm and chaotic — reveals a lot about their situation, their relationships with one another, and their world.

Continue reading on Infinite White Space…

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Culture Consumption: January 2024

Here’s my month in books, television and games.

Books

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro is a gorgeous horror novel. On the surface, Alejandra has a picture perfect life — a handsome husband, three beautiful children, and a large house in which to care for them. But the image presented doesn’t tell the whole story. Alejandra is dragged down by her life and the expectations placed upon her, with the daily tasks of caring for her husband and children allowing no space for her to be or think for herself. Worse is the sense of guilt she feels for being unhappy in the first place, because what does she have to be unhappy for. As the depression oozes around her, it dredges up something deep, deep from darkness, something ghostly and deadly stalking her and feeding her despair — and if she can’t face what haunts her, then it will destroy her.

The Haunting of Alejandra explores the nature of healing through therapy, connecting with ancestors and loved ones, and finding one’s inner strength. Alejandra’s journey is beautiful and moving. This is a book that on the one hand presents the horrors of ancient monsters, generational trauma, and depression, while on the other hand giving me such a sense of hope.

Continue reading on Infinite White Space…

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Books I Loved in 2023

It’s always a good year for reading, whenever I’m reading consistently and pursuing the genres and works that I’m passionate about — and as a result, I delved into some phenomenal reads in 2023. I completed a total of 40 books in a variety of genres, with a mix of horror, fantasy, poetry, and books on creativity (mostly game writing) rounding out some of my favorite reads of the year.

For those interested, my lists of games and movies and TV that I loved over the past year are also up on my blog, Once Upon the Weird.

Continue reading on Infinite White Space…

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We Made It Another Year

Well, friends. I have found myself a new home for my newsletter. After looking at my options (regarding UI, style, and price, I went with Beehiiv. So, here we are — shiny and new in time for the new year.

With the new platform, I’ve changed the name of the newsletter to Infinite White Space, representing approaching the blank page as a creative with all the opportunities, possibilities, and anxiety that that implies for writers, artists, and creators.

I’m also thinking of merging my newsletter with my blog, so you could be seeing a bit more from me — though I don’t plan to post more than once a week (and let’s be real, it will probably be much less than that).

At any rate, it’s that time of year, so here are my thoughts on 2023 and how I’m looking forward to 2024.

Continue reading on Infinite White Space…